Share your memories

This is a great idea for a website; to capture the history and demographics of all Drive-In theatres in New York. Having managed the Westbury Drive-In in the early 80's, I am particularly happy to see the pictures. Looks like it didn't change much until it closed down in favor of an indoor multiplex. So it goes.

My grandfather, William "Jack" Bard was the projectionist at Westbury for many years--I still recall going with friends and feeling like a big shot because I was allowed inside the projectionist's booth. If anybody has some more photos, please post them...Thanks.

When the Westbury drive-in closed, it was the end of an era for Long Island. We have been left without one ever since, and I feel it should be a worthy cause to bring a drive-in back to the area somehow. Nothing beats the experience of having Hollywood collide with car culture. I had so many memories here in the 80s and 90s and was very sad to see it go. Now if I want to have that experience, I need to drive 60 miles away upstate to the Warwick drive-in. It doesn't seem fair.

I used to frequently go to the Westbury drive in and immensely miss it. The ideal place where somebody could put a drive in today on Long Island is Jones Beach. They could put a screen in the back of field 4 which can hold several thousand cars. The fields are empty at night and would provide a great opportunity to bring back a drive in.

Great Drive-in, loved this place. During the early eighties, I saw tons of great garbage there, horror films like The Grim Reaper, Zombie, A Stranger is Watching, a lot of the Chuck Norris action pictures. Real good times. I was a projectionist for a while in the 90's and I was supposed to train at that drive-in but I never did, they were aware is was going to be on it's way out and didn't push my going there. I miss the place terribly.

I lived on a court just off Cantiauge Rock Road. At night though trees i remember i could see part of the screen showing the movie. It was sad that in 1998 the movie theater closed. It was something that i will always associate with my childhood. last movie I saw there was 'Chain Reaction' with my friends. It was a special place. I have known indoor movie theaters to close from time to time but when the drive in closed it was a loss.

Went there a lot in the 90s. Saw Something About Mary, Leprechaun 2, Mission Impossible, Godzilla... They had three screens and we'd drive around and check the other flicks. There were even places where you could park outside and catch views of the screens. It's criminal that we've lost these cultural treasures as well as the fact that Hollywood no longer makes movies worth watching anyways. One day the drive in will return, and we will see these decades as the "dark ages" of American pop culture.

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